Long They Will Wait
by CompanionPlease
Summary: SPOILERS FOR FRESH STARTS AND FAREWELLS. Because Season 3 is still a month away, I am here to fill the void. New chapters every 3 days or so until Season 3 premieres. My take on the story arc post season 2 finale.


**A/N: Hello fellow A&A fans! Having watched the season 2 finale, I felt inspired to write a new fanfic for the first time in about a year. Who knows how long til they start airing season 3, so I am here to fill that gaping hole in your lives. Obviously this won't be as great as the actual show, BUT I wanted to try my hand at the future of Austin, Ally, Trish, and Dez. (:**

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Ally Dawson was watching her father's music store Sonic Boom. It was a Sunday afternoon and therefore somewhat empty. The buzz of conversation was on the quiet side with the occasional twinkle from the bells above the entrance. Despite having given up her habit of hair chewing, she still found herself with an oral fixation problem. She was currently chewing on her pencil, studying the lyrics she had just written into her new book. She stopped chewing for a second.

All three of her best friends were finishing up a cross country tour... without her. Ally had been busy making her own album, following her own dreams. But still. Now that she was no longer needed in the studio, the pangs of loneliness were much longer and more frequent. Ally allowed her mind to drift to her imagined summer with the rest of Team Austin & Ally.

They'd all be on the tour bus. She would be sitting in the comfiest chair or couch, book in hand, pencil between teeth. Austin would be nearby strumming guitar. Or maybe laughing with Dez. Or more likely, gorging himself on snacks. Trish would be on the phone, checking on stuff despite her typical lazy attitude. She and Ally would share an eye roll when the boys would do something particularly childish. Dez would end up in weird positions trying to get the best shot of all the craziness. She imagined the post show routine: meeting fans before hopping on the bus to the nearest diner for midnight pancakes. Austin would demolish an entire stack while she would beg for a pickle from the judgmental waitress. Dez would end up with syrup all over him and an angry Trish on his hands.

Ally was jolted from this daydream by a crash from behind her. She turned to see a cymbal on the floor with a sheepish looking Nelson. She frowned, her guilty hope being crushed by the small boy. She remembered another time someone had misused the drumset-

"I'm sorry Ally! I was just practicing so I could go on tour with Austin next year!"

Ally smiled at him but shook her head. "Nelson, I think Jimmy Starr's going to want someone a little older to be in Austin's band."

"Austin's band?" Nelson exclaimed. "I was talking about being his opening act!" He stomped out with as much ferocity as a young boy could while Ally just watched him leave, confused.

After picking up the cymbal and rearranging the drumset, her father returned to the store in his usual upbeat mood. "How's my favorite girl?" he asked, making his way to the cash register.

"I'm fine, Dad, just cleaning-" Ally began before getting a look from her father.

"Oh, Sweetie, I meant Lucy."

Ally frowned. "Lucy?"

"The cash register?"

"You named our cash register Lucy?"

"Yeah. I took it from the phrase, 'loose change.' You like it?" her dad asked, a hopeful smile on his face.

"I mean, I guess. Kind of weird that you named the cash register though..."

"Well, anyways, I am here to let you off! Go on home, pumpkin."

"But dad-"

"Butts are for pooping! Go relax some, Ally. You need to rest up for the new school year."

"School doesn't start for another week!"

"Exactly! Take time off while you can! Now GO!" And with that, Lester Dawson gently shoved his daughter out into the rest of the Miami Mall.

Despite wanting nothing less than to exercise, Ally resigned herself to taking a walk. Going home would only lead to pure misery. At least if she stayed in the mall, there was some opportunity for distraction. The stores were almost as empty as Sonic Boom. After wandering for an hour or so, she felt her stomach grumble. The truth was, her appetite had pretty much disappeared the day after her friends left. Eating made her nauseous while not eating gave her a headache. When it came time to eat, she usually had to force feed herself a salad. On good days she could eat a banana with it. Today was apparently a miracle day because she found herself not only hungry, but craving pizza.

Upon entering the food court, she saw a welcoming and familiar face in Kira Starr. Kira was sitting at a table with a magazine in hand. Ally made her way to the beautiful dark-haired girl. "Kira!"

Kira looked up and smiled at the songwriter approaching her. With Ally's friends gone, she had invited Kira to keep her company and give her hints at the recording studio. The two had developed a close bond over the summer despite the previous bad blood between them. "Ally! I was just about to come by Sonic Boom! How's your day been?"

"Okay," Ally replied honestly. "Kind of dull, to tell you the truth. But I was gonna grab a slice. Wanna join?"

"I'd love to!" Kira gathered her phone and magazine and the two girls made their way to the Egyptian Pizza Kitchen, Ally's favorite.

After the two girls were seated and their drinks and food ordered- two diet sodas and single slice of cheese and another slice of Hawaiian- Kira took direction of the conversation. "So Austin should be home soon."

Ally nodded while taking a sip of her soda. "I'm excited to see my friends."

"I'm sure they're excited to see you too. Have you talked to any of them lately?" Kira was careful in bringing up Team Austin stuff. Ally had seemed to shut down whenever it was brought up. However, after growing closer, Ally was more likely to share at least a little bit about her feelings.

"Trish called last night," Ally answered with a smile. "She said L.A. was a great show."

"That's good! Although I'm not surprised," Kira laughed.

"So true! I mean, we all knew how talented Austin was. Still pretty exciting." The thought of her friends on the other side of the country made Ally frown. Kira picked up on this and tried to brighten the table again.

"So when exactly do they get back?"

"Late Friday night which means I'll probably see them all on Saturday."

"Which shows are left?"

"One in San Francisco and one in Las Vegas and then they just road trip home with a stop in Orlando for the final show."

"That reminds me!" Kira shouted suddenly, causing the entire restaurant to turn and look at them. "Oops," she said sheepishly with a slight shrug. "It's just- my dad said Austin's opening act for Orlando dropped. So I'll be opening for Austin!"

"Kira, that's so exciting!" Ally said, genuine happiness flowing from her words.

"That's not the best part!" Kira continued. "You know that duet we recorded for your album?"

Ally nodded while her breath caught in her throat.

"My dad wants us to perform it! He wants to surprise Austin with both of us being there. So do you want to?"

"I- Of course! I mean- EEK!" Ally shrieked with girlish excitement, causing yet another disturbance in the pizzeria. The two girls giggled at the angry stares before returning to their conversation.

"Ally, I'm so glad you agreed! And remember it's a surprise! So if they call or e-mail, don't give anything away!"

"Whaaaaaaaat?" Ally said in her incredibly unconvincing tone of voice. "I can keep a secret!"

Kira raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay. I promise to keep THIS secret." Ally vowed to her friend.

"Excellent! My dad has a limo for us. The concert is Thursday night!"

After this, their pizza arrived. The two ate in mostly silence except for the occasional joke or story in between bites. After Kira paid (despite Ally's protests), they returned to a closing Sonic Boom.

Mr. Dawson smiled as they entered while Kira greeted him. "Hey, Mr. D!"

"Hi Kira," he replied. "How was your time off, Ally?"

"It was good dad! Thanks for making me do it."

"Ally has exciting news!" Kira exclaimed.

"Really?" Mr. Dawson asked.

Ally glared at her friend while Kira diverted her gaze.

"Yeah, dad, the thing is- I'm gonna sing my duet with Kira at Austin's last concert. The one in Orlando on Thursday night? So can I have off?"

"Of course you can!" her dad yelled before pulling her into a bear hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

"But it's a secret!" Kira interjected. "So don't tell anyone!"

"Fine, fine, fine. I'll watch the store on Thursday. You girls have fun!"

"We will!" Kira said, observing the wide grin on Ally's face. A text alert went off and both Ally and Kira instinctively checked their phones. "It's my dad," Kira sighed before putting her phone back in her pocket. "I have to go home." She hugged Ally and waved to Mr. Dawson on her way out. "We'll start practicing tomorrow!" she said before exiting the store.

"Only four days until you see the whole gang," Mr. Dawson said quietly to his daughter.

Ally was jolted by this statement and looked at her dad. "I- yeah. It's been a while." She looked to the ground for a minute before walking to the Sonic Boom counter. Her new book sat untouched all afternoon and so she grabbed it and held it to her affectionately. "Four days."

The next three days were filled with shifts at Sonic Boom, rehearsals with Kira, and brief conversations with her on the road friends. Ally kept her lips shut about the Orlando concert whenever they would comment the number of days left until they were reunited. It was tough keeping this secret, especially from Trish. But they were often limited to minute long conversations which made it a little bit easier for Ally.

By the time Thursday arrived, Kira and Ally had their duet down pat and all possible chances to blow the secret were unsuccessful. The limo would be at the mall at noon to pick Ally up. She waited anxiously in Sonic Boom, gripping her backpack and book with a force unknown to her. She kept glancing at her phone with such anxiety that her dad finally forced her into the practice room until the limo arrived. After that, she found herself in the back of a limo with not only Kira, but the entire Starr family.

"Ally!" Kira greeted her before attacking her with a hug.

Ally laughed and hugged the other girl back.

"Hey, Ally," Jimmy greeted. "This is my wife, Mira Starr."

"It's so wonderful to meet you, Ally." Mrs. Starr said, gripping Ally's hand in a handshake. "I just adore your music."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Starr."

"Please, call me Mira."

Ally settled in her seat between Kira and the window. She tried to participate in the conversation as much as possible. But many times, she found herself staring out the window, lost in thought.

Her mind kept drifting to the last time she had seen her friends.

_"I'm not getting on the bus. I'm here to say goodbye." The silence that followed broke Ally's heart._

_"Oh." Austin's defeated voice escaped him._

_"Is it because I got a better score than you on that stupid test?" Dez asked._

_"No," Ally answered with a roll of her eyes. She hugged her best freckled friend. _

_"I'm gonna go now because I don't want you to see me cry," Dez said after they broke apart. Ally noticed the tears before he did. "It's too late. It's too late!" She watched as Dez ran to board to bus. _

_Trish was next. "I'm gonna miss you. But I know you're doing the right thing." Ally couldn't even muster words for her best friend. And the best manager. The girls hugged. "By the way," Trish said after they broke apart, "can you stop by the frozen yogurt place and tell them I'm gonna be three months late?" Ally could only nod and smile before hugging her best friend again._

_Austin Moon. Her partner. One of her best friends._

_"I'm gonna miss you." The words that came from his mouth were dripped with a familiar sadness._

_"I'm gonna miss you too," she replied honestly. _

_"We shouldn't be sad!" he said, smiling. "You're making a record! I'm so proud of you."_

_"I know. And you're going on your first tour! And hey, we're only gonna be apart for like, three months."_

_"Actually it's 94 days." They both frowned. "Hey, 94! That's like what Dez-"_

_"Don't say it." There was a pause. "I guess this is goodbye. Have fun on tour!"_

_"Good luck making your record. I know it's gonna be great."_

_The look in his eyes broke her. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug that she couldn't imagine ever breaking. But she did and watched him as he got on the bus. She began to walk away, the finality of it all hitting her when-_

_"Ally, wait!"_

_"Austin, what are you-"_

_"Ally, I just wanted to say that I..."_

_Another silence fell. She watched as he pulled out a card and handed it to her. _

_"Here. Says it all in there."_

_She looked at him, confused._

_"I was gonna send it to you in case you didn't show up."_

Ally snapped awake from her daydream to open her new songbook. The card was where she kept it, safe between the front cover and the first page. She touched it gently, tracing the "Thinking of You," on the front. The card made her smile. But in her heart, she knew. She knew 92 days- while not 94- could still change a person. She had changed. Her feelings had not, despite her best efforts. But that didn't mean his hadn't.

Almost as if reading her thoughts, she felt Kira grab her hand and send her an encouraging smile. Ally couldn't help but smile back. Her new friend gave her the courage to not only survive the more than three hour car ride, but actually enjoy it. The Starrs were really funny people and Jimmy's stories about artists who were actually more insane than Team Austin made Ally smile.

The stadium where Austin was performing in Orlando was already bustling with people. It was 3 hours before showtime for Kira and the tour bus hadn't even arrived yet. Ally was allowed to wander around until later when Kira would need her for a sound check. She made her way to the topmost seats in the building and made herself comfortable. In only a few hours, someone would be sitting here, listening to her perform. The thought struck her as rather odd, but gave her a song idea. She pulled the still new-smelling book out and began jotting lyrics down.

It seemed like it had been only a few minutes but Ally soon heard Kira take the stage for her sound check. Knowing she would be needed soon, Ally began her long journey to backstage. The hustle and bustle of the pre-show had picked up even more while she was writing so Ally had to be careful when walking. As a rather small person, other people had no problem simply running her over. After dodging multiple head and foot wounds, Ally found herself waiting patiently for Kira to call her onstage for sound check.

Ally felt a hand on her shoulder. When she turned around to acknowledge it, she found herself surrounded by body heat and colors.

"Ally!" a cacophony of noise made the sound of her name.

"Asdfghjkl-" she attempted to speak but was unable to because of the force upon her. After what seemed like forever, she was released and allowed to look up into the faces of-

"Dez? Trish! AHH!" Ally screamed before giving each of her friends dramatic hugs.

"Are you the surprise guest?" Dez asked.

"I- wait, what? How'd you know about the surprise guest?"

"We heard it on the radio!" Trish answered. "Some radio station got a tip that there'd be a special surprise guest for Austin at his concert tonight! It must be you!"

"Actually, I'm one of two in case you haven't been listening." Ally pointed out to Kira who was on stage for her sound check.

"What's Kira doing here?" Dez asked, looking rather perplexed.

"Austin's original opening act dropped. So Jimmy wanted Kira to fill in. And Kira and I did a duet on my new album that Jimmy wanted us to perform. So here I am!"

"YOUR ALBUM!" Trish yelled. "I almost forgot!"

This statement caused Ally to shoot her a look. Trish shrugged it off. "I've been busy. Whatever, tell me about your album!"

"Ally Dawson, please come to the stage," an announcement boomed over them.

"We'll catch up later," Ally promised the strange duo in front of her. "Gotta go!"

Ally joined Kira on stage and the two began singing their song. It only took a few minutes to get Ally's mic set correctly. After another run through, Ally retreated to backstage to wait for the show.

While she more than happy to see Dez and Trish, she couldn't help but notice Austin's absence. Why hadn't he come to even say hi? She kept telling herself he was busy. But she remembered how much time she had with him at the Miami show. She began to tap her foot and fought her instinct to tug at her hair and chew on it. It was in this anxious state that Kira found Ally.

"Ally! How happy are you?"

"I- uh. Average?"

"But you've seen your friends! It's kind of lame the secret got out a little early. But still fun, right? Austin was pretty shocked."

"You've seen Austin?" Ally asked, her anxiety betraying her as her voice trembled.

"Yeah, with Dez and Trish. Didn't you-" Kira seemed to register something and leaned in to hug Ally. "It was a fluke. I just happened to catch him at the right time. You know how busy these things are!"

Ally knew her friend was trying to comfort her but she just couldn't take it. "I think I'm just gonna wait for my turn, okay?"

Kira let go of the quiet songwriter and nodded. "Okay. Do you remember your cue?"

Ally rolled her eyes but smiled. "Yes. You're going to ask me to join you. By name. I think I can handle it."

"Okay. I'm on in 15, you should be on in around 45 minutes. Be happy Ally!" Kira called after her friend's retreating figure.

Ally spent the next half hour posed by the stage, watching and waiting. Kira began her act and at that point Ally only had a few minutes before it was her turn. Even with her sadness concerning Austin, she felt the familiar joy and trepidation filling her chest. She was getting to perform a song from her album in front of thousands of people! The thought was strangely comforting to her.

And then she heard Kira talking into the microphone. Her talking was a blur until, "Ally Dawson!"

The applause that echoed through the stadium was unbelievable. As Ally walked out and waved to the fans, she couldn't help but smile. The duet went perfectly and Ally hugged Kira before exiting the stage. Now that her job was done, she could take care of more... personal business.

Ally began looking for some familiar faces. After a few minutes, she found Trish with a headset and a surprisingly camera-less Dez. Trish smiled and waved but continued talking into her headset. Dez shrugged and pointed to a corner of the filled room. Ally followed his finger where they could talk. "Trish is always crazy at this point," Dez explained while Ally stole a glance back at her Latina friend.

"When do you think I could see Austin?" Ally asked, knowing it would do her no good to be subtle with Dez.

Dez's face sort of sank before he stuck his hand behind his neck. "Uhh..."

"I just- Do you know if-" Ally's voice was trembling again despite her best efforts to appear strong.

"You can talk to him after the show, Ally. I know he missed you." Dez placed a hand on the brunette's shoulder. Ally nodded and the two made their way back to Trish.

"I should be done until the end of Austin's performance," Trish said as they walked up. "Let's go watch Austin!"

The trio huddled on the side of the stage to watch their superstar friend perform. Ally's eyes stayed on Austin throughout his whole performance. Despite performing all summer, he still seemed completely energetic, almost the exact same as the day he left. This made Ally smile and it was at this moment that Austin happened to glance over and see her.

The eye contact caused Austin to stumble in his dancing and Ally watched in horror as he fell flat on his face. He picked himself up quickly and laughed the mishap off. The whole stadium cheered as he bowed and then shushed them. "Some of y'all may have heard rumors about a special surprise guest." The whole building was rather quiet considering the thousands of people there. "And I was told just before coming out here that those rumors are true. For those of you who are fans of 'Don't Look Down,' my partner is here to sing it with me!"

Ally's stomach dropped while she looked quickly over at Trish and Dez. Both of them seemed as confused as she was. While her back was turned, Ally heard the audience burst into a noise she hadn't hurt all night. The sound was deafening. The looks on Trish's and Dez's faces turned to slight horror, causing Ally to look back to the stage.

Next to Austin was a very familiar, very tall, very blonde, and very famous singer songwriter. The two blondies hugged while everyone looked on.

"But that's-" Ally began, looking back to Trish and Dez. "How?"

Trish shrugged while Dez looked down to his clown shoes.

Ally looked back to Austin on stage and caught him looking over at her. She watched as his grip on the mic tightened. "The special surprise guest is my very talented girlfriend, Taylor Swift!" The roar of the crowd became a dull white noise in Ally's ears as she watched the duo on stage begin to perform.

It was only when she felt an arm around her shoulder that Ally noticed the show was over. "Ally?" She turned to see Kira looking at her with concerned eyes. "Are you okay?" Ally put her brave face on and nodded.

"Yeah. Totally! I mean, girlfriend, that's wonderful. Good for him. And they can sing together. Perfect. Just-"

"Ally?" Her ramble was interrupted by someone she hadn't talked to face to face in 92 days. The tall blond boy with hazel eyes stood a few feet away, looking unsure of what to do. "I- I missed you?" It was more a question that a statement, him wondering if they were okay. Ally stood there like a stone, unmoving. "I uh- you and Kira- I'm so..." Ally's silence was clearly throwing him off his game, leaving the shy songwriter feeling guilty.

"I missed you, too." The two closed the distance and embraced each other for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"Can you believe it's been 3 months?" Austin asked as they broke apart.

"More like 92 days," Ally laughed gently. Man, they were bad at this.

"So post-concert routine involves ice cream," Austin said. "Want to come?"

Ally smiled and nodded. She followed after her rock star while Kira walked beside her, holding her hand. Kira shot her a look and Ally just shrugged in response. "Time," she whispered to a perplexed Kira.

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**A/N: So that's the end of Chapter 1! The story as of right now has 12 chapters. I think in the end it will end up being 13. Which means updates every 2-3 days until Season 3 premieres! It'll probably be 4-5 days until Chapter 2 in an attempt to let people see the finale etc. But for those of you who were impatient like me, you're welcome. :) See y'all again soon!**


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